The Bush Is Back: Why Reggie Bush Will Simply Outdo Adrian Peterson

The running back position seems to be a thing of the past, at least in these playoffs.  With all the talk surrounding Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Mark Sanchez, other players are going unnoticed and not being recognized for their efforts on and off the field.

The Minnesota Vikings are set to head to the Superdome and face the red hot New Orleans Saints on Sunday.  In a game that is shaping up to be a quarterback versus quarterback duel, there seems to be little room for the running game in either sides arsenal of attacks.

With two top of the line running backs in Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson, surely there is something they can do in this game, right?

Absolutely.  The run game is going to be vital to both teams, considering that the Saints defense and the Vikings defense is loaded up and ready to pick off any deep ball that either quarterback attempts.

Adrian Peterson is fresh off a week that he may soon want to forget.  Rushing for only 63 yards and zero touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, All Day Peterson is not looking like the sure footed, burst of speed running back that we have come to know.

Reggie Bush on the other hand is.  After working his butt off with Sean Payton all week and finally finishing his runs (something that he has lacked all season), Bush is now looking like the all round running back that the Saints originally thought they were getting when they drafted him out of USC.

With the two on the field Sunday, it may resemble a simple match of score and answer.  If Bush scores, expect the Vikings to answer right back.  If Peterson scores, expect the Saints to answer right back.  And vise versa.

With both of them rushing, catching, blocking, and more importantly scoring, who has the upper hand in the game?

Well it's simple—Reggie Bush.

Stats wise, the two don't match up.  If anything it's like comparing the tortoise to the hare; Bush is simply slower and more fragile. 

Confidence wise though, things tell a different story.

Reggie Bush is confident. He is motivated and he is ready to pile through defenders in a Mark Ingram-style fashion on Sunday.  Cap this off with the fact that the Vikings defense is lacking that smash mouth style of player that can rush in and make the big stops, and Bush may have something more than just a "field day" on the Vikings defense come Sunday.

Blitzing is something Bush has to keep in mind but not something he has to fear.  Linebackers Jasper Brinkley, Chad Greenway, and Ben Leber may pack the heat on the Saints run game, but there will be more than one occasion where Bush makes the quick cut and takes it up the sidelines.

Coming off his best game this season with 108 yards gained, an impressive 46 yard touchdown run, 109 yards on kickoff returns, and 83 yard touchdown return, Bush would be thanking his feet that they have returned to form in a time that his team surely needs him.

With experienced safeties Madiey Williams and Tyrell Johnson in the backfield, if Reggie Bush does take the sideline option well, if stats are anything to go off of, these two guys may be a mere hurdle for Reggie Bush should the opportunity arise.

Maybe the resigning of Deuce McAllister forced Reggie back into his old groove, or maybe it was just a coincidence and he was in the right time at the right place.  Either way, Reggie Bush is confident and Adrian Peterson is not.

Peterson, given the nickname "All Fumble Peterson" recently, will plague his mind this week.  It's obvious he has not been at his 100 percent best this season, and whether or not that has to do with Brett Favre is a different story.

Confidence, motivation, determination, and persistence is all that Reggie Bush needs to have a great game.  Oh, and he's got all of that right now.  Expect him to come out firing.

"What makes this team so good is that there's balance and not only balance in run and pass, but balance in who we can count on to make big plays," Stinchcomb said after the Saints game against Dallas on Sunday. "If a defense tries to focus on just one or two guys, there's too many weapons for that."

Stinchcomb, your exactly right.